Moussaka with homemade tomato paste

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade tomato paste ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Wash the tomatoes, remove the cores and quarter each tomato.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 2
   Put the tomatoes, the salt and half of the olive oil in a wide pot, cover and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and release their liquid.

   StoveWide, shallow pot
3. 3
   Pass the tomatoes and their liquid through a food mill or sieve and return the purée to the pot: the skins and seeds stay behind.

   Food millorFine sieve
4. 4
   Cook uncovered about an hour at a lively simmer, stirring now and then, until the purée reduces by half.

   StoveWooden spoon

   💡The paste burns easily as it dries: stir and scrape the bottom and edges, and once it is thick, don't walk away.
5. 5
   Preheat the oven to 110°C (230°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
6. 6
   Grease a wide baking dish with the rest of the olive oil and pour in the purée in a thin layer. Dry in the oven about 3 hours, stirring and scraping the edges every 30 minutes, until the paste is thick, sticky and brick red.

   OvenBaking sheetSilicone spatula
7. 7
   Let the paste cool.

   Jar

For the Meat sauce

1. 8
   Cut the eggplants into slices 1 cm thick.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 9
   Sprinkle salt over the slices and leave for 20 minutes, then rinse off the salt in cold water and pat dry well.

   ColanderKitchen towel
3. 10
   Brush the slices with some of the olive oil, place them on the oven rack and broil. Turn to the other side.

   Pastry brushOvenOven rackBakeware
4. 11
   Heat the rest of the olive oil in a pot over medium heat.

   StovePot
5. 12
   Add the onion and fry 5–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   Stove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
6. 13
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   Stove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.
7. 14
   Raise the heat to medium-high and add the meat. Press it flat over the bottom and leave it for 2–3 minutes without stirring, until a brown crust forms.

   Stove

   💡Brown ground beef in the pot without pressing it: leave it as one 'cake' for a few minutes until a brown crust forms, then break it into chunks. Deep browning = deep flavor.
8. 15
   Break it up with a wooden spoon and fry for 10 more minutes, stirring, until no pink is left and the meat browns.

   StoveWooden spoon
9. 16
   Add the tomato paste to the meat and stir 1 minute, until it darkens a little.

   💡Fry the tomato paste with the meat for a minute before the liquids: it caramelizes lightly, loses its sourness and deepens the sauce.
10. 17
    Add the oregano, thyme and cinnamon, season with salt and bring to a boil.

    Stove
11. 18
    Serve hot 0.

    StoveLid

    💡The slower the sauce cooks, the thicker it gets and the better the flavors blend. 20–30 minutes make a quick meat sauce; an hour and a half to two hours over low heat make a rich Bolognese.

    💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.

For the Béchamel

1. 19
   Melt the margarine in a pot over medium heat, add the flour and stir 2 minutes, until a smooth roux forms and starts to bubble.

   StovePot
2. 20
   Gradually add the water, whisking constantly, and bring to a slow boil, until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat.

   StoveWhisk
3. 21
   Season with salt and Nutmeg.
4. 22
   Beat the eggs, whisk some of the sauce into the eggs and return everything to the sauce.

   BowlWhisk

To assemble

1. 23
   Arrange a third of the eggplant in the baking dish and cover with half the meat. Arrange another third of the eggplant, cover with the rest of the meat and finish with the rest of the eggplant.

   Baking pan
2. 24
   Pour the white sauce over the eggplant and bake medium for about 40 minutes, until the white sauce browns.

   OvenBaking pan